Eating later in the day may be associated with obesity

Eating later in the day could contribute to weight gain, according to a new study to be presented Saturday at ENDO 2019, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Previous studies have suggested that the late moment of eating and sleeping is linked to obesity, said lead author Adnin Zaman, MD, of the University of Colorado in Denver, Colorado. However, few studies have evaluated the timing of meal and sleep in adults with obesity. and it is unclear whether eating later in the day is badociated with shorter sleep time or increased body fat, "she said.

The study used three types of technologies to record sleep, physical activity, and the eating habits of participants. "It has been difficult to apply the science of sleep and the circadian cycle to medicine because of the lack of methods to measure daily patterns of human behavior," Zaman said. "We used a new set of methods for simultaneously measuring daily sleep, physical activity, and meal synchronization patterns that can be used to identify people at risk for gaining weight."

The study lasted one week and included 31 overweight and obese adults, aged 36 on average. Ninety percent were women. They were enlisted in an ongoing weight loss trial, comparing daily caloric restrictions to a restricted diet over time, which meant that they could only eat during certain hours of the day.

Participants wore an activPAL electronic device on the thigh. This device measured how much time they spent in physical and sedentary activities. They also wore an Actiwatch, which badesses sleep and waking patterns. Participants were asked to use a phone application called MealLogger to photograph and time stamp all meals and snacks throughout the day.

The researchers found that on average, participants consumed food for 11 hours a day and slept about 7 hours a night. People who ate later in the day slept later, but slept about as much as those who finished eating earlier. Later meals were badociated with higher body mbad index and increased body fat.

"We used a new set of methods to show that people suffering from overweight or obesity could eat later in the day," Zaman said. "These results corroborate our overall study, which will aim to determine whether restricting food consumption earlier in the day will reduce the risk of obesity."

"Given that mobile activity monitors and smartphones are now ubiquitous in our modern society, it may soon be possible to envision the behavior of 24-hour behaviors in the way we approach prevention and treatment. obesity, "said Zaman.

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Provided by
The endocrine society